Sears to Sell Its Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Business : Deals: The buyer, San Francisco-based Fremont Group, is an investment company with more than $3.5 billion in assets.
Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Thursday that it will sell its Coldwell Banker residential real estate division to Fremont Group, a San Francisco-based investment firm, for an undisclosed price.
The Mission Viejo-based unit was put on the block last September when Sears announced a restructuring designed to save about $300 million annually and focus the company on its retail operations. On Tuesday, Sears sold its Glendale-based savings bank and two mortgage operations to PNC Bank Corp. for $328 million.
Announcing the Coldwell sale at the company’s annual meeting, Sears Chairman Edward A. Brennan promised shareholders that the company will cut costs further. “We have reduced costs by more than $1.5 billion over the past three years, but more needs to be done,” he said.
Fremont Group, an investment company owned largely by members of the Bechtel family, has more than $3.5 billion in assets. Its holdings include the Cost Plus Inc. retail chain, the Petro Stopping Centers truck-stop chain, several commercial real estate companies as well as timber, energy and communications operations.
Thursday’s announcement ended a swirl of rumors that at one point pegged the Bass family of Ft. Worth, Tex., as potential buyers. Fremont Group “has been a very serious buyer all along,” Coldwell Chairman Chandler Barton said. “We’re extremely pleased to be associated with a company with the longstanding tradition and heritage of the Bechtels.”
Coldwell senior managers, including Barton, will remain at the company after the deal is completed in July. Fremont Group intends to let Coldwell Banker “continue our long-term strategic plans, including aggressive franchise growth,” Barton said. The real estate operation’s headquarters will remain in Mission Viejo, he said.
Consumers won’t notice a difference when the sale is completed, Barton said. “There will be no change in management or our strategic direction. If anything, we’ll probably accelerate our growth plans.”
Sears bought Coldwell Banker, the nation’s third-largest national residential real estate firm in terms of home transactions, in 1981 for $179 million. The retailer sold Coldwell’s commercial real estate operations to a management-led buyout in April, 1989. The commercial real estate company, based in Los Angeles, is now known as CB Commercial Holdings Inc.
Under the Fremont Group, Coldwell Banker will keep its operating divisions, including Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates Inc. (franchise operations), Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (company-owned offices) and two relocation services operations. Coldwell Banker also operates title and escrow divisions.
